August 21, 2026
By Hashir Ahsan
ISLAMABAD
Imran Khan’s sister criticized his overnight medical evaluation as inadequate, raising concerns that authorities diverted him to a different facility rather than the court-ordered hospital.
Dr. Uzma Khan, who had remained present throughout all stages of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf leader’s examination and treatment said that according to the supreme court’s directives, she and Dr. Faisal Sultan, their family doctor, were both meant to be present during the medical examination. She said she was directed over the phone to reach Adiala Jail, where they arrived between 8:00 to 8:30 PM. At around 12:30 AM, Dr. Faisal was taken – ostensibly to be with Khan, while she was later placed in a separate vehicle.
“I was initially told nothing,” she said. “But when the car stopped I realized that we had in fact reached PIMS Hospital instead of Shifa.”
There, she was escorted through the PIMS OPD to an upper floor, where the PTI founder was already seated. However, when she inquired about Dr. Faisal’s whereabouts she was given no answer. She said that Khan’s eye was examined at the hospital, however, no one present knew his medical history. The attending doctors were asking Imran Khan basic questions, such as which eye drops he had previously used, to which he replied he did not remember.
Uzma intervened, saying the doctor should know this information and not depend on the pateint knowing. She further added that while he was checking Imran Khan’s blood pressure, Khan was emotional, at which the doctor remarked that under such conditions, the blood pressure could not be measured accurately. However Imran Khan told him to continue and to check anyway.
Later, Dr. Arif and other physicians also examined Imran Khan. According to Dr. Uzma, when she returned to Adiala Jail in the morning, Dr. Faisal was seen stepping out of another vehicle.
She also remarked that there was no mention of a medical board, in fact no one had even spoken to them, and they were treated like prisoners. “I had brought a suitcase with me due to the Supreme Court order, but my brother and I were placed in separate vehicles,” she said. “However there was no traffic along the route we came through, and I heard the Fajr prayers near Scheme 3.”
Speaking to journalists, she affirmed that the PTI founder was completely healthy with only a minor eye issue remaining, and that he sent a message for Sohail Afridi to intensify their movement, which she would deliver to him.
Meanwhile, Imran Khan’s personal physician, Dr. Faisal Sultan, said that after 12:30 AM, officials arrived, placed him in a vehicle, and drove him to Shifa International Hospital, a 30-minute journey. He waited in the waiting area at Shifa International Hospital for two and a half to three hours until, around 4:30 AM, he was informed that the PTI founder would not be able to arrive and was told to leave as well. (In actuality Imran Khan had been taken to PIMS).
After the entire medical process was completed, Khan was transferred back to Adiala Jail at approximately 0500 hours on the morning of August 21, 2026.
Besides Khan’s sisters Dr Uzma and Aleema, PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar also said whatever had happened was a ‘great misfortune’ and unexpected – especially Khan being transferred to a different hospital. He clarified that shifting and keeping the PTI founder at the designated hospital had been mandatory under the Supreme Court’s decision, and had been completely clear, adding that if there had been any ambiguity in the Supreme Court’s decision, a review could have been filed. “There is someone who does not want issues to be resolved,” he said, maintaining that “political problems required political solutions.”
Government
Following his medical check up, Atta Tarar, the Federal Minister for Information, posted on social media that, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s decision, the inmate was taken to the hospital during the night between August 20 and August 21, 2026, under ‘appropriate security arrangements’ and that a qualified team of doctors—including an ophthalmologist, a cardiologist, and a physician, had conducted a detailed examination and had declared him ‘medically fit’.
He said that doctors from Shifa International Hospital were also present during the medical examination at PIMS. The Minister noted that due to the security situation created by PTI workers both along the route to and outside Shifa International Hospital, Imran Khan was taken to PIMS Hospital instead, where he was found healthy.
The Minister added that medical facilities have been provided to Khan previously and will continue to be provided whenever required.
Review petition on Imran Khan’s transfer to hospital
However in parallel, the government re-filed its review petition against the Supreme Court’s decision after removing the objections previously raised by the Registrar’s Office when it was returned.
The petition asserts that there is a flaw in the judicial decision regarding the hospital transfer, that Jail Rules were ignored in the verdict, and that the government was not made a party in the main case. It requests the court to accept the application, grant permission for review, and reconsider the August 18 decision.
On August 18, a two-member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Shahid Waheed heard the case regarding the PTI founder’s health, treatment, and family meetings. During the hearing, Justice Shahid Waheed raised questions over not presenting Imran Khan’s complete medical record in court, remarking that the material provided was merely a summary of the medical report and directing that the complete record be presented before the next hearing. Referring to the medical reports, Justice Shahid Waheed had noted that the PTI founder’s pulse and heart condition were not normal and that his vital organs were beginning to be affected.
Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan inquired whether an angiography was possible in jail if mentioned in the report, to which the Advocate General for Islamabad replied that an angiography could be performed at an outside hospital.
The court then ordered that the PTI founder be shifted to Shifa International Hospital until the next hearing. The Supreme Court instructed the formation of a medical board for the former Prime Minister, his transfer to the hospital under strict security, and the maintenance of law and order outside the hospital. The court ruled that PTI would bear the expenses of the private hospital and that Dr. Faisal Sultan and Dr. Uzma Khan would accompany the PTI founder.
The court also made significant remarks regarding family meetings with Imran Khan, with Justice Shahid Waheed stating that meeting his sisters is not a favor but their fundamental right, and that it is not the state’s job to violate the law. The court summoned the complete record of meetings with the PTI founder over the past three years from Adiala Jail authorities, as well as details regarding phone calls with his children, ordering that a family meeting be arranged once a week.
During the hearing, PTI leaders were explicitly instructed not to make the PTI founder’s health and treatment a political issue, with Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan remarking that PTI members must ensure there is no politics over his medical condition, and Justice Shahid Waheed stating that the party and family must submit an affidavit promising not to hold media talks after meetings. Attorney Uzair Bhandari requested the court for a complete check-up of the PTI founder at Shifa International Hospital, stating that the reason behind the blood clot should be uncovered.
The court also sought complete details of all cases against the PTI founder, with Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan asking in how many cases Imran Khan is an under-trial prisoner, in how many he has been convicted, and in how many his sentences have been suspended. The Supreme Court ordered that Imran Khan be kept at Shifa International Hospital until the next hearing and adjourned further proceedings of the case until September 16.